Sara Brogaard
Senior Lecturer
Does the EU renewable Energy Directive contribute to fair and just governance of the biofuel sector? A comparison between the Swedish national scheme and EU accredited voluntary schemes
Author
Summary, in English
In the search for viable pathways for transforming governance and institutions in the Rio+20 agenda,
strengthening of public‐private governance networks has been emphasized. Important initiatives are
found in the expanding bioenergy sector where several certification schemes have been launched for
ensuring that bioenergy feedstock meet environmental and social requirements. These initiatives are
encouraged by the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). RED states that biofuels should replace
10% of Europe's fossil fuel in transport by 2020. However, the production of bioliquids raises serious
environmental and social sustainability concerns in producer countries. In order to contribute to the
EU targets, economic operators most comply with a set of sustainability criteria through one of three
reporting schemes. This study, emphasizing the Swedish case as one of the first countries to
transpose RED into national law, focuses on which reporting system is chosen by economic operators
and on what grounds. Are social concerns such as labor rights, land and resource rights considered
important factors? Preliminary work show that the national scheme is stressing environmental
sustainability, showing fewer concerns of social aspects, while the EU recently accredited voluntary
systems, driven by a range of actors, are more transformational concerning the inclusion of social
concerns in producer countries. The study contributes to the important question on how to promote
north‐south justice and fairness aspects in governing a sustainable biofuel production by learning
from the implementation of this potentially influential regulatory innovation.
strengthening of public‐private governance networks has been emphasized. Important initiatives are
found in the expanding bioenergy sector where several certification schemes have been launched for
ensuring that bioenergy feedstock meet environmental and social requirements. These initiatives are
encouraged by the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). RED states that biofuels should replace
10% of Europe's fossil fuel in transport by 2020. However, the production of bioliquids raises serious
environmental and social sustainability concerns in producer countries. In order to contribute to the
EU targets, economic operators most comply with a set of sustainability criteria through one of three
reporting schemes. This study, emphasizing the Swedish case as one of the first countries to
transpose RED into national law, focuses on which reporting system is chosen by economic operators
and on what grounds. Are social concerns such as labor rights, land and resource rights considered
important factors? Preliminary work show that the national scheme is stressing environmental
sustainability, showing fewer concerns of social aspects, while the EU recently accredited voluntary
systems, driven by a range of actors, are more transformational concerning the inclusion of social
concerns in producer countries. The study contributes to the important question on how to promote
north‐south justice and fairness aspects in governing a sustainable biofuel production by learning
from the implementation of this potentially influential regulatory innovation.
Department/s
- LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Document type
Conference paper: abstract
Topic
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Conference name
Earth System Governance Conference, 2012
Conference date
2012-04-17 - 2012-04-19
Conference place
Lund, Sweden
Status
Published